AIDS United is excited to return to the U.S. Conference on HIV/AIDS (USCHA) in Anaheim, California, September 17–20, 2026. USCHA brings together community advocates, people with lived experience, service providers, healthcare professionals, researchers, policymakers, and other leaders from across the country to share knowledge, build connections, and advance the fight to end the HIV epidemic.
This year, AIDS United staff and partners will contribute to workshops and institutes exploring community engagement, organizational sustainability, political power, PrEP access, and Medicaid coverage. We hope you’ll join us for these conversations and connect with our team throughout the conference!
Find AIDS United at These USCHA Sessions
The Power of Us: Storytelling and Community Engagement
Date & Time: September 16, 2:00–3:30 p.m.
Location: Laguna — Concourse Level/4th Floor
Speakers: Carl Baloney, Jr., CEO & President, AIDS United; Travis Gayles, MD, PhD, Chief Executive Officer, Howard Brown Health; DeMarc Hickson, Ph.D., Executive Director, Us Helping Us, People Into Living; Channyn Lynne Parker, Chief Executive Officer, Equality Illinois
Who gets to set the table for the HIV response, and who has been left waiting for a seat? This discussion explores the power of storytelling, community engagement, and Black-centered leadership in shaping a more effective and authentic HIV movement. Speakers will examine what it means to center Black voices, embrace intersectional leadership, invest in community-led movements, and challenge systems that have historically excluded those most impacted. Together, we’ll explore how we can use our collective power to create lasting change and keep the door open for the leaders who come next.
Finding Stability in the Chaos: Strategies for Sustaining HIV Service Organizations
Date & Time: September 17, 8:00–11:00 a.m.
Location: Palos Verdes — Concourse Level/4th Floor
Speakers: Alicia Downes, LMSW, Director of Federal Projects, AIDS United; Drew Gibson, Director of Advocacy, AIDS United; Jacobi Hunter-Wright, MA, Senior Program Manager, AIDS United; Joseph D. Stango, Senior Program Manager, AIDS United
The institute will examine how HIV-service organizations are adapting to growing socio-political pressures currently reshaping public health infrastructure and funding. In Part 1, drawing on findings from a recent landscape assessment, presenters will explore the impact of emerging policy changes—including reductions in force (RIFs), cancelations and delays in already appropriated federal funding, shifts in Medicaid policy, discriminatory policies targeting underserved communities, and the reorganization of public health agencies. In Part 2, staff from an HIV-service organization will share how these changes have altered their service delivery model and affected continuity of care for clients. In Part 3, presenters will introduce tools developed by AIDS United (AU) supporting organizational responses to these challenges. Through a case study, participants will explore how one grantee used AU tools to navigate a shifting environment. The institute will conclude with an overview of AU’s current programmatic responses and updates on national advocacy efforts.
State of the South: Political Power as HIV Prevention
Date & Time: September 17, 8:00–11:00 a.m.
Location: Catalina 2 — Catalina/Lower Level
Speakers: Venita Ray, Executive Director, Black South Rising; Maximillian Boykin, Movement Director/Campaign Manager, Black South Rising; Athena Cross, DrPh, Vice President and Chief Program Officer, AIDS United; Vienna Mbagaya, MPH, Senior Manager of Impact and Evaluation, AIDS United
After nine years and $133 million invested across 498 Southern organizations, the Gilead COMPASS Initiative® enters its dissemination phase with an urgent message: when the political environment actively undermines community health structure, the HIV movement must pivot from addressing social determinants to confronting political determinants of health. This Institute presents findings from the 2026 “State of the South” (SOTS), a multi-state community engagement process conducted across nine sessions. Through facilitated exercises, case studies, and small-group strategy sessions, participants will leave equipped with coalition-building tools, advocacy frameworks, and concrete strategies to protect HIV infrastructure in an increasingly hostile political environment.
Medicaid Work Requirements: How to Keep People with HIV Covered in 2027 and Beyond
Date & Time: September 19, 10:15–11:45 a.m.
Location: Catalina 1 — Catalina/Lower Level
Speakers: Rachel Klein, The AIDS Institute; Liz Kaplan, Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation at Harvard; Leslie McGorman, AIDS United
Medicaid is the cornerstone of health insurance coverage for people with HIV, and crucial to ending the HIV epidemic. But on January 1, 2027, 41 states and Washington, DC will be implementing a new Medicaid work requirement that will disrupt coverage for millions of people, including tens of thousands of people with HIV. Come learn about what the requirement is, to whom it applies, how states are implementing it, how to navigate it, and what you can do to advocate for yourself and other people with HIV to minimize the number of people who lose access to care because of it.
Rx for Change: Mobilizing Pharmacies and Communities to Expand PrEP Access
Date & Time: September 19, 2:30–4:00 p.m.
Location: Avalon A & B — Lobby Level/1st Floor
Format: Live Stream
Speakers: Leisha McKinley-Beach, MPH Black Public Health Academy; Candace Meadow MPH, Emory Compass Center; Tamara McCants, PharmD National Pharmaceutical Association; Athena Cross, DrPH, AIDS United
This workshop will explore how community pharmacies can serve as trusted, convenient, and stigma-reducing access points for HIV prevention and care. Using the Rx for Change model, participants will discuss how pharmacy-based HIV testing, PrEP education, referrals, and prescriptions can increase access in communities disproportionately impacted by HIV, particularly in the U.S. South. The workshop will allow participants to examine the role of community-based organizations, pharmacy teams, public health partners, and policymakers in transforming pharmacies into sustainable HIV prevention access points.
Connect With AIDS United in the Exhibition Hall
AIDS United will also have a booth in the exhibition hall! Find us in the Capacity Building Assistance Village at Booth # 423 to learn more about our work, programs, services, and opportunities to get involved in the movement to end the HIV epidemic.
Whether you’re looking to connect with our team, learn more about our programs, or explore ways to strengthen your organization and community, we’d love to see you.
We’ll see you in Anaheim!
